Buy Someone Else's Leftovers with This New App

Leftover breakfast is hard to come by. Who ever heard of “unfinished” pancakes? But also because breakfast foods just don’t keep that well until the next morning. But if you’re willing to eat a little later, you might be able to enjoy other people’s leftovers. Why would you want to? Well, for one, it's much cheaper than ordering freshly made food.

It’s all thanks to an app called Food For All which, if it gets enough donations on Kickstarter, wants to serve you restaurant leftovers at the end of the day, or whenever the restaurant closes or a shift ends. Too fresh to throw away and still good to eat, the food can find a home in someone’s belly for 50 to 80 percent less than it costed earlier that same day.

When it comes to Food For All, you won’t be selecting from a menu. Orders are based on nearby deals, which fluctuate depending on what the restaurant has left and how much. First, customers look for options close to their location, choose what looks good, and get to the restaurant before closing to pick up the leftovers. Restaurants determine both the price and time-frame of the pickup, depending on the food and shifts.

The app was created by Boston entrepreneur David Rodriguez while he was working on his MBA. Food For All, which is still just a prototype, has a month to reach its $50,000 goal on Kickstarter. As of now, it’s close to $38,000 short. The money raised will go towards project development for iOS and Android phones, operations,marketing, and packaging. It’s offering perks like free meals, t-shirts, and a “SURPRISE XMAS PRESENT.”

If they reach their goal, the app will be available in both New York City and Boston in July 2017, with further cities being added if more money is raised. As of right now, the company has over 30 restaurants in their pilot program in Cambridge, MA.

The biggest goal of the project, however, is to reduce food waste. As the Kickstarter states, up to 40% of all United States food produced is wasted. Everything combined adds up to 43 billion pounds of unused food per year. By encouraging people to eat the phone, the app hopes to make an impact on the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and affects the environment. And for everyone else? It just means sleeping a little longer until breakfast. Win-win.